


Silence; Strength

by Harmony



Category: Eyeshield 21
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-17
Updated: 2013-01-17
Packaged: 2017-11-25 20:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/642717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harmony/pseuds/Harmony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yamato knew what it was: a mutual respect that didn’t really need to be said in words – the fact that he didn’t really need to be out here, talking to Shin about any of this. But somehow, even amidst the frosty air, it gave him some kind of warmth, a strange comfort.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Silence; Strength

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet was a request from Atan, who gave me the prompt "The World Cup, and Sena". Kind of an introspective fic. Also posted at my Livejournal :) Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

  
‘It’s kind of a surprise and not a surprise, seeing you out here.’  
  
Shin was the personification of physicality: a build of blood and muscle and sweat, limitless strength and cold, solitary nights of training in self-confinement. Skin glistening and muscles heaving, his dark eyes didn’t even look up from his one-handed pushups, and Yamato didn’t really expect any less – there were players with natural, god-given gifts like Kongou Agon, and those who honed skills from a build-up of years and years of training, however unintended, like Sena-kun; and there were was Shin, an extraordinary ace blessed with both ends of the scale, arms and legs birthed with natural gifts and laced with countless devoted years of daily training.  
  
He was exercising outside, alone – at least for a time – caressed by the cold evening Manhattan air.  
  
‘What do you mean?’  
  
‘You, working out hot and heavy at this time of night as if your life depended on it,’ replied Yamato casually, moving down to a crouch next to the other young man and peering at him. ‘You probably don’t realize how much other people see that as remarkable, especially at your current level.’  
  
‘You were the real Eyeshield 21. Straight from the heart of America,’ Shin countered calmly between pants, his breath forming clouds of mist. ‘That, alone, is remarkable.’  
  
Yamato smiled, his eyes flickering away. ‘ _Were_ is right.’  
  
It was only a little awkward, what’s between them, and the brief silence that followed, with only Shin’s short, sharp breaths cutting the air. Yamato knew what it was: a mutual respect that didn’t really need to be said in words – the fact that he didn’t really need to be out here, talking to Shin about any of this. But somehow, even amidst the frosty air, it gave him some kind of warmth, a strange comfort. He wrapped his thin scarf more tightly around his neck and grinned.  
  
‘You know, after I lost to him, I told him the truth,’ he said, and he was surprised at the softness of his own voice, how much it reflected a closely-kept memory.  
  
For the first time, Shin paused, and looked straight up into his eyes. ‘Sena?’  
  
‘Who else?’ teased Yamato mildly, raising an eyebrow. He blew into his hands once to warm them, before crossing his arms. ‘I was excited at the idea of fighting alongside him. So much, in fact, that I almost forgot to be frustrated at my own defeat. Team Japan … is filled with real superhumans. It’s amazing how much power and potential we have – but we better not underestimate or get left behind, eh?’  
  
Shin pulled himself up slowly into a sitting position on the concrete, his legs folded, his focused gaze never leaving Yamato’s eyes.  
  
‘There’s no such thing as no room for improvement,’ he agreed.  
  
‘And that’s why you’re out here, pushing yourself, even though your skills are already terrifying,’ answered Yamato pointedly, rummaging in his pocket. ‘Want some lifesavers?’  
  
The corners of Shin’s mouth twitched.  
  
‘Ah, caught red-handed. You were just about to smile,’ Yamato winked, popping a lifesaver into his own mouth with one hand and holding the colorful, cylindrical packaging out in offering with the other.  
  
‘… You’re … really cheerful.’  
  
‘You’re not cheerful enough. Although, if you started grinning and chuckling like me tomorrow, I’d probably be pretty scared.’  
  
Shin shook his head and grabbed himself a lifesaver. ‘You really are something.’  
  
‘So are you,’ answered Yamato warmly, folding his legs underneath him into a seated position, so that they were side by side. ‘We both are. We _all_ are.’  
  
They sat there together for the next hour in silent contentment, under the cover of the stars, without exchanging another word. Perhaps, Yamato thought, they both understood everything that wasn’t said such that they didn’t need to.  
  
But their gazes did meet several times – at which point Shin would nod, and Yamato would smile – and that felt like enough.


End file.
